The Whitman sisters were a group of four, white sisters named Mabel, Essie, Alberta, and Alice. They all worked together as a group by touching base with many African American Dances and performance traditions, the Cakewalk being one of them. They started their own company called “The Whitman Sisters New Orleans Troubadors” in 1903. This company in the next few years helped introduce the Cakewalk around 1908. Something important to notice about that date is that the Cakewalk was still being danced and used as a source of entertainment after slavery was abolished in 1865. Basically, the Cakewalk was still alive after 43 years of when it first started on a slave plantations.
Alice Whitman, the only sister who had significant history with the Cakewalk, won a great deal of Cakewalk dance competitions. Alice was considered the “Queen of Taps and Champion Cakewalk dancer.” The Whitman sisters, especially Alice, are amended to illustrating that dance to many audiences, bringing the dance alive in the U.S.
Really well done and informative. Whitman sisters seem very talented